1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to radio frequency receivers, and more specifically to reducing second-order intermodulation distortion in a direct-conversion receiver.
2. Related Art
A radio frequency (RF) receiver uses the frequency response of a low noise amplifier (LNA), a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter and a duplexer to attenuate signals that are far from a center frequency of the receiver sufficiently enough to not corrupt a desired signal. If the LNA and the SAW filter are removed from the analog line-up of the receiver, problems that can detrimentally affect the performance of the receiver may arise. In a transceiver, which comprises a transmitter and a receiver, one such problem is a signal transmitted by the transmitter leaking into the receiver. In a transceiver having only a duplexer to isolate the receiver from the transmitter, there is considerably less attenuation in the receiver of signals at the transmit frequency. A receiver that lacks a SAW filter requires additional and/or tighter constraints on the second-order intercept point (IP2) of the mixer. Without a sufficiently high IP2 of the mixer, the presence of second-order intermodulation distortion (IMD2) substantially reduces the sensitivity of the receiver. The IMD2 results from an unwanted squaring of the transmitted signal at the mixer of the receiver.
Most cellular wireless transceivers use a direct-conversion receiver because a high level of integration can be obtained. However, a direct-conversion receiver requires a high input-related second-order intercept point (IIP2), which is the theoretical input level at which the power of the IMD2 products are equal in power to the power of a desired signal.
When the receiver is at sensitivity and the transmitter is at maximum output power, the self-blocking effect of the transmitter can, through a second-order nonlinearity of the mixer, desensitize the receiver. In such a receiver, transmitted signals are attenuated via the duplexer by approximately 50 dB; nevertheless, attenuated transmitted signals leak into the receive signal path prior to a front-end amplifier. For example, in the receiver, the duplexer attenuates a strong signal, transmitted by the transmitter of the transceiver, of +25 dBm (316 milliwatts) located at 190 MHz from the center frequency by only 50 dB, thus resulting in a signal of −25 dBm (3.16 μwatts) at the input of the front-end amplifier. This −25 dBm signal creates strong IMD2 products that land on the desired signal, thus producing interference.
The IP2 of the mixer in a direct-conversion receiver that lacks a SAW can vary due to manufacturing processes and/or change in temperature. Any mismatch between differential signals in the mixer causes a reduction in the IP2 from an optimal IP2. The mismatch can be due to variations in manufacturing processes or due to temperature changes during operation of the receiver, or due to both causes. The mismatch can also occur due to direct current (DC) offset, local oscillator leakage, or other factors. When there is a large mismatch between differential signals in the mixer, a worst case IP2 of approximately 25 dBm can occur. The following example uses the worst case IP2 of 25 dBm from measured data of a known 3G receiver.
IMD2=Pin−(IP2−(Pin))=−25−(25−(−25))=−75 dBm=3.16 μwatts
When a transmit signal is at maximum power, 25 dBm, the IMD2 referred to the input of a transconductance amplifier (not shown) is −75 dBm. The received power spectral density, Ior, as per the sensitivity specification set forth in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, should be at or below −106.7 dBm to achieve a 0.1% bit error rate. The thermal noise, kTBF, in this example is approximately −99 dBm. Because the power of the IMD2 over the bandwidth of the desired signal is much greater than the kTBF, the sensitivity rises to −82.7 dB, i.e., 24 dB above the required sensitivity. Therefore, a receiver, including, in particular, a direct-conversion receiver that lacks a SAW, should have a sufficiently large IP2 to meet the specifications of the 3GPP standard.